Grandville High School’s Wrestling Appeal Denied

It's official -- wrestlers from Grandville High School will not be allowed to participate in the post-season.

The Grandville team wrestled in 15 matches this season, which is one more than what is allowed. Wrestling more than 14 times in a season is considered to be an unfair competitive advantage. So, the MHSAA disqualified them.

Officials from the school appealed that decision at around 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, and Thursday the MHSAA handed down their verdict - the wrestlers from Grandville are still disqualified.

In a post on Facebook, school officials said, "The result of our appeal is disappointing. Thank you to EVERYONE who supported our wrestlers during this very unfortunate experience."

The school also released an official statement in which they revealed that their appeal wasn't even looked at. There is a rule in the state's "Due Process Procedure" that states, "After the tournament opt-out date for a sport (late January for wrestling), there is no appeal from a decision of the MHSAA executive director concerning issues relating to the conduct of or participation by schools or students in the MHSAA tournament for that sport.”

Therefor, the school missed the deadline to appeal.

The school went on to say,

Our kids and our coaches are hurting, and we hurt for them. We hope in time they can look back at their wrestling experience at Grandville High School and remember the great things they accomplished and how proud they have made us both on the mat and off.

Thank you to all of the coaches, athletes, and citizens around our great country who reached out to our team and to the MHSAA to communicate their beliefs regarding this situation. We appreciate your voice and we hope that your voice will be heard as people reflect upon this unfortunate experience.

The MHSAA has gone on the record, saying that any of the individual wrestlers on the team who only participated in the allowed 14 matches will be allowed to wrestle in the state individual tournament.